How the South Skews America

[DonViejo]

We’d be less violent, more mobile and in general more normal if not for Dixie.

By MICHAEL LIND

July 03, 2015

Every year the Fourth of July is marked by ringing affirmations of American exceptionalism. We are a special nation, uniquely founded on high ideals like freedom and equality. In practice, however, much of what sets the United States apart from other countries today is actually Southern exceptionalism. The United States would be much less exceptional in general, and in particular more like other English-speaking democracies such as Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were it not for the effects on U.S. politics and culture of the American South.

I don’t mean this in a good way. A lot of the traits that make the United States exceptional these days are undesirable, like higher violence and less social mobility. Many of these differences can be attributed largely to the South.

All English-speaking democracies share certain characteristics in common. Compared to continental European and East Asian democracies, the Anglophone nations tend to be more market-oriented and less statist, with somewhat lower levels of social spending and weaker bureaucracies. We might even speak of “Anglosphere exceptionalism.”

But even by the standards of the English-speaking world, the U.S. appears as an extreme outlier, in areas ranging from religiosity to violence to anti-government attitudes. As we learned after the slaughter last month in Charleston, S.C., some deluded Southerners still pine for secession from the Union. Yet no doubt there are also more than a few liberal Northerners who would be happy to see them go.

Minus the South, the rest of the U.S. probably would be more like Canada or Australia or Britain or New Zealand—more secular, more socially liberal, more moderate in the tone of its politics and somewhat more generous in social policy. And it would not be as centralized as France or as social democratic as Sweden.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/how-the-south-skews-america-119725.html#ixzz3ewXaoAYs

[still_one]

1. Nixon's Southern strategy is indeed a formidable barrier, however, states such as Wisconsin, Iowa,

Pennsylvania, and others that were traditionally blue, appear to be purple.

I am not so sure if the countries consensus today would be more similar to Britain, Canada, etc. in those purple states. Perhaps in the sixties, but the country has been moving to the right since reagan. It appears the right wing pendulum might be turning, but that will take some time to be a reality, especially taking into consideration that the house has been gerrymandered until at least the next census

[HereSince1628]

3. Yes, Wisconsin is decide ly purple. But it's really not because Badgers are middl'in sorts of people.

WI is very much bi-modal. The notion that it's full of moderate/centrist practical/common-sensical folks philosophically in the middle makes as much sense as composted Musky-manure.

[still_one]

4. I just think that no matter who is our nominee, it is going to be challenging race.

[mmonk]

2. And then there are some states where turning blue is impossible

due to gerrymandering. For all the talk of democratic representative government, it's just not true.